thedrifter
05-07-06, 07:24 AM
Patriotic pride will fill park in Poway
By Marcia Manna
UNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER
May 7, 2006
POWAY – On Tuesday, he might be playing his trumpet, blowing the strains of a rousing Sousa melody. On Wednesday, Staff Sgt. Mark Reheard could just as easily be ordered to report for predeployment training before heading to Iraq.
“You almost have to have a split personality,” said Reheard, who will perform with Marine Band San Diego at the Community Band Festival in Poway next weekend.
“Music is a feeling emotion, and sometimes you have to flip the switch.”
That switch is first flipped in boot camp, a requirement for all Marine musicians. The armed forces is one of the largest employers of musicians in the country, and most instrumentalists who enter the service do so immediately after high school.
Marine musicians are required to master two opposing disciplines. One requires the emotional sensitivity to produce a soulful performance; the other demands intense physical training and a sense of detachment.
After passing an audition that looks for proficiency in song presentation and sight reading and a knowledge of musical scales, a musician must spend 13 weeks in boot camp.
Then he or she must complete Marine Corps combat training.
“It's infantry-related skills training, which is the basic groundwork for every Marine,” said Staff Sgt. Joey Payton, who will conduct the band at the Poway performance.
“No matter what you do in the Marine Corps, you are a Marine first.”
New recruits then head to the Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, Va., where they spend six months learning to be military musicians.
“Our field requires that you come in knowing the job,” Payton said. “They don't teach you to play an instrument. But in Norfolk, they teach you how to perform in a military manner. They work on drills, ear training, music theory and, once a week, individual instruction on their instrument. They must also do GMT, general military training. That's continuous.”
The Marine Band San Diego has a history that dates back to 1798. It performs regularly for visiting dignitaries and at the Tournament of Roses Parade and other civilian and military events.
It's noncombat service, but Marines rotate their station every three years.
Payton, a flutist who has conducted for the past five years, served in the Middle East before being stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. “Our primary duty, if we are deployed, is to protect the general,” Payton said.
“When I was in Iraq, the general was there and we guarded Camp Ramadi. We aren't the infantry, but we do guard duties as any Marine would do.”
The Community Band Festival will celebrate the armed forces with concerts by 17 bands in Old Poway Park. The two-day event, hosted by the Pomerado Community Band, has continued for a dozen years. Families spread out blankets, picnic and listen to familiar patriotic music.
Payton said his favorite composition is John Philip Sousa's “Semper Fidelis.”
“I'm 17 years in the Marine Corps, and I haven't tired of that,” he said. “It's also the motto of the Marine Corps; it means 'Always Faithful.' ”
Staff Sgt. Reheard, who leads the brass section of the Marine Band San Diego, has a soft spot for the “Marines' Hymn,” copyrighted by the Marine Corps in 1919.
“It's our song,” Reheard said. “When we play it, the 'Greatest Generation' is out in the audience, and many are crippled or old. But every Marine, past or present, will stand at attention.
“The other piece is our national anthem. Freedom isn't free, and for those of us who have served, we know what the protected will never know. It means a lot, every time I play it.”
Let us know about North County arts and leisure events. Contact Marcia Manna at marcia.manna@uniontrib.com or (760) 476-8223.
Ellie
By Marcia Manna
UNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER
May 7, 2006
POWAY – On Tuesday, he might be playing his trumpet, blowing the strains of a rousing Sousa melody. On Wednesday, Staff Sgt. Mark Reheard could just as easily be ordered to report for predeployment training before heading to Iraq.
“You almost have to have a split personality,” said Reheard, who will perform with Marine Band San Diego at the Community Band Festival in Poway next weekend.
“Music is a feeling emotion, and sometimes you have to flip the switch.”
That switch is first flipped in boot camp, a requirement for all Marine musicians. The armed forces is one of the largest employers of musicians in the country, and most instrumentalists who enter the service do so immediately after high school.
Marine musicians are required to master two opposing disciplines. One requires the emotional sensitivity to produce a soulful performance; the other demands intense physical training and a sense of detachment.
After passing an audition that looks for proficiency in song presentation and sight reading and a knowledge of musical scales, a musician must spend 13 weeks in boot camp.
Then he or she must complete Marine Corps combat training.
“It's infantry-related skills training, which is the basic groundwork for every Marine,” said Staff Sgt. Joey Payton, who will conduct the band at the Poway performance.
“No matter what you do in the Marine Corps, you are a Marine first.”
New recruits then head to the Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, Va., where they spend six months learning to be military musicians.
“Our field requires that you come in knowing the job,” Payton said. “They don't teach you to play an instrument. But in Norfolk, they teach you how to perform in a military manner. They work on drills, ear training, music theory and, once a week, individual instruction on their instrument. They must also do GMT, general military training. That's continuous.”
The Marine Band San Diego has a history that dates back to 1798. It performs regularly for visiting dignitaries and at the Tournament of Roses Parade and other civilian and military events.
It's noncombat service, but Marines rotate their station every three years.
Payton, a flutist who has conducted for the past five years, served in the Middle East before being stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. “Our primary duty, if we are deployed, is to protect the general,” Payton said.
“When I was in Iraq, the general was there and we guarded Camp Ramadi. We aren't the infantry, but we do guard duties as any Marine would do.”
The Community Band Festival will celebrate the armed forces with concerts by 17 bands in Old Poway Park. The two-day event, hosted by the Pomerado Community Band, has continued for a dozen years. Families spread out blankets, picnic and listen to familiar patriotic music.
Payton said his favorite composition is John Philip Sousa's “Semper Fidelis.”
“I'm 17 years in the Marine Corps, and I haven't tired of that,” he said. “It's also the motto of the Marine Corps; it means 'Always Faithful.' ”
Staff Sgt. Reheard, who leads the brass section of the Marine Band San Diego, has a soft spot for the “Marines' Hymn,” copyrighted by the Marine Corps in 1919.
“It's our song,” Reheard said. “When we play it, the 'Greatest Generation' is out in the audience, and many are crippled or old. But every Marine, past or present, will stand at attention.
“The other piece is our national anthem. Freedom isn't free, and for those of us who have served, we know what the protected will never know. It means a lot, every time I play it.”
Let us know about North County arts and leisure events. Contact Marcia Manna at marcia.manna@uniontrib.com or (760) 476-8223.
Ellie